Equality impact assessment (EIA) form: evidencing paying due regard to protected characteristics
(Form updated October 2023)
SEND Mediation and Disagreement Resolution Services Contract
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If you would like this information in another language or format such as Braille, large print or audio, please contact the Communications Unit on 01609 53 2013 or email communications@northyorks.gov.uk.
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Equality Impact Assessments (EIAs) are public documents. EIAs accompanying reports going to County Councillors for decisions are published with the committee papers on our website and are available in hard copy at the relevant meeting. To help people to find completed EIAs we also publish them in the Equality and Diversity section of our website. This will help people to see for themselves how we have paid due regard in order to meet statutory requirements.
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Name of Directorate and Service Area |
CYPS - Inclusion
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Lead Officer and contact details |
Chris Reynolds, Head of SEND Provision and Resources
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Names and roles of other people involved in carrying out the EIA |
Wendy Butterfield, Lead SEND Development Officer
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How will you pay due regard? e.g. working group, individual officer |
Request for Information – January 2026
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When did the due regard process start? |
December 2025
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Section 1. Please describe briefly what this EIA is about. (e.g. are you starting a new service, changing how you do something, stopping doing something?)
This EIA considers the implications of identifying a provider to provide SEND mediation and disagreement resolution Services for North Yorkshire Council.
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Section 2. Why is this being proposed? What are the aims? What does the authority hope to achieve by it? (e.g. to save money, meet increased demand, do things in a better way.)
The purpose of the contract is to ensure North Yorkshire Council has in place a high-quality mediation and disagreement resolution service to support young people and their families.
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Section 3. What will change? What will be different for customers and/or staff?
There will be improved services for children, young people and their families. Where an agreement can’t be reached in reference to an EHCP the Authority strives to reach an early resolution, this would be supported by the contract.
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Section 4. Involvement and consultation (What involvement and consultation has been done regarding the proposal and what are the results? What consultation will be needed and how will it be done?)
A Request for Information (RFI) took place in January 2026, the results of which have fed directly into the specification.
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Section 5. What impact will this proposal have on council budgets? Will it be cost neutral, have increased cost or reduce costs?
Please explain briefly why this will be the result.
It is expected that their will be a reduction to the costs of mediation and disagreement resolution, due to a clear budget being set for the contract.
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Section 6. How will this proposal affect people with protected characteristics? |
No impact |
Make things better |
Make things worse |
Why will it have this effect? Provide evidence from engagement, consultation and/or service user data or demographic information etc. |
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Age |
X |
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It is anticipated there would be no identifiable impact on SEND young people due to their age. |
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Disability |
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X |
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This will increase the support SEND young people are given if they disagree with the Authority. |
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Sex |
X |
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It is anticipated there would be no identifiable impact on SEND young people due to their sex. |
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Race |
X |
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It is anticipated there would be no identifiable impact on SEND pupils due to their race |
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Gender reassignment |
X |
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It is anticipated there would be no identifiable impact on SEND pupils due to their gender reassignment. |
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Sexual orientation |
X |
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It is anticipated there would be no identifiable impact on SEND pupils due to sexual orientation |
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Religion or belief |
X |
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It is anticipated there would be no identifiable impact on SEND pupils due to religion or beliefs. |
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Pregnancy or maternity |
X |
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It is anticipated there would be no identifiable impact on SEND pupils due to pregnancy or maternity. |
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Marriage or civil partnership |
X |
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It is anticipated there would be no identifiable impact on SEND pupils due to marriage or civil partnership. |
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Section 7. How will this proposal affect people who… |
No impact |
Make things better |
Make things worse |
Why will it have this effect? Provide evidence from engagement, consultation and/or service user data or demographic information etc. |
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..live in a rural area? |
X |
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It is anticipated there would be no identifiable impact on people who live in rural areas. |
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…have a low income? |
X |
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It is anticipated there would be no identifiable impact on people who have a low income. |
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…are carers (unpaid family or friend)?
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X |
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It is anticipated there would be no identifiable impact on people who are carers. |
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….. are from the Armed Forces Community |
X |
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It is anticipated there would be no identifiable impact on people who are from Armed Forces community. |
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Section 8. Geographic impact – Please detail where the impact will be (please tick all that apply) |
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North Yorkshire wide |
X
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Craven |
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Hambleton |
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Harrogate |
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Richmondshire |
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Ryedale |
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Scarborough |
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Selby |
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If you have ticked one or more areas, will specific town(s)/village(s) be particularly impacted? If so, please specify below. |
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This service will be available to all SEND children and young people across North Yorkshire.
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Section 9. Will the proposal affect anyone more because of a combination of protected characteristics? (e.g. older women or young gay men) State what you think the effect may be and why, providing evidence from engagement, consultation and/or service user data or demographic information etc.
No, it is expected to have a positive impact for all children and young people with SEND and their families.
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Section 10. Next steps to address the anticipated impact. Select one of the following options and explain why this has been chosen. (Remember: we have an anticipatory duty to make reasonable adjustments so that disabled people can access services and work for us) |
Tick option chosen |
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1. No adverse impact - no major change needed to the proposal. There is no potential for discrimination or adverse impact identified. |
X |
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2. Adverse impact - adjust the proposal - The EIA identifies potential problems or missed opportunities. We will change our proposal to reduce or remove these adverse impacts, or we will achieve our aim in another way which will not make things worse for people. |
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3. Adverse impact - continue the proposal - The EIA identifies potential problems or missed opportunities. We cannot change our proposal to reduce or remove these adverse impacts, nor can we achieve our aim in another way which will not make things worse for people. (There must be compelling reasons for continuing with proposals which will have the most adverse impacts. Get advice from Legal Services) |
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4. Actual or potential unlawful discrimination - stop and remove the proposal – The EIA identifies actual or potential unlawful discrimination. It must be stopped. |
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Explanation of why option has been chosen. (Include any advice given by Legal Services.)
No adverse impact identified.
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Section 11. If the proposal is to be implemented how will you find out how it is really affecting people? (How will you monitor and review the changes?)
The contract includes a monitoring process. This covers regular reports and contract management meetings, including KPIs.
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Section 12. Action plan. List any actions you need to take which have been identified in this EIA, including post implementation review to find out how the outcomes have been achieved in practice and what impacts there have actually been on people with protected characteristics. |
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Action |
Lead |
By when |
Progress |
Monitoring arrangements |
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Contract management review meetings
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W Butterfield |
Termly |
Ongoing |
Minutes |
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Reports
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Provider |
Termly |
Ongoing |
Contract management |
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Section 13. Summary Summarise the findings of your EIA, including impacts, recommendation in relation to addressing impacts, including any legal advice, and next steps. This summary should be used as part of the report to the decision maker.
The assessment identifies no adverse impacts on any protected groups and notes a positive impact for disabled children and young people, who will benefit from improved access to early, impartial disagreement resolution. There are no anticipated financial risks, and costs are expected to reduce through a clearly defined contract budget.
The recommended option is to proceed with the proposal unchanged, as no potential for discrimination has been identified and no legal concerns have been raised.
Next steps include implementing the service with the contract’s built‑in monitoring arrangements, including regular reporting and termly contract management meetings to track outcomes and ensure ongoing compliance.
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Section 14. Sign off section
This full EIA was completed by:
Name: Wendy Butterfield Job title: Lead SEND Development Officer Directorate: CYPS – Education and Inclusion Signature: W Butterfield
Completion date: 3.2.26
Authorised by relevant Assistant Director (signature):
Date:
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